Remembering the Historical Acts of the Lord

I will remember the deeds of the LORD;

yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

  I will ponder all your work,

and meditate on your mighty deeds.

 (Psalm 77:11-12 ESV)

   The thesis of this blog is that cultivating a heart of remembrance on the historical acts of God in the Bible is the substance that will fuel our love, worship and faithfulness for the Lord over the next decades. Thus, if we are to remain faithful to the Lord we must study, meditate and talk with Him about His acts throughout history. The negative proposition is that if we do not study these acts then we could “burn out” and lose our faithfulness for the Lord in the following years.

   So why study the historical acts of God? It is through the Lord’s acts that we gain an understanding of His love. A friend can tell you “I love you” or “I care for you” many times, but if His actions contradict his statements then his words are meaningless. In the same way, God’s deeds throughout history is what reveals His emotions towards us. In our modern context, which is permeated by ancient Greek philosophy, when we think about the words lovingkindess, goodness, mercy, love or any other words associated with one’s emotions we mostly think of them as some ethereal or abstract concept. But the Hebrews would have had a concrete understanding of what these terms meant. The Lord’s actions proved the statements about his emotions towards His people. Here is one of the many passages where we see the direct relationship between God’s emotions and His actions:

On the glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

  They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,

and I will declare your greatness.

  They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

The LORD is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

  The LORD is good to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

 (Psalm 145:5-9 ESV)

   

   The psalmist’s proclamation and praise about God’s character was founded upon His understanding of God’s deeds. In the same way that we know a friend’s love for us through His actions so also the psalmist knew of the Lord’s affection for His people through His works.

   By knowing the emotions behind God’s deeds the saints were sustained to remain faithful to Him throughout the decades of their lives. 1 John 4:19 says that “We love because he first loved us.” Thus if we are to love the Lord and remain faithful to Him we must understand His love for us  through His acts in history. Our understanding of the Lord’s love cultivated through meditating on His acts will cause us to remain faithful to Him unto death

   The negative side of the coin is that if we do not cultivate a heart of remembrance for the Lord’s acts throughout history then we could end up loosing our faithfulness to Him in the following years. Here are some Scriptures that reveal this principle:

As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, 

(Judges 8:33,34 ESV)

They tested God again and again

and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

  They did not remember his power

or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,

  when he performed his signs in Egypt

and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.

 (Psalm 78:41-43 ESV)

Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,

did not consider your wondrous works;

they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,

but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.

 (Psalm 106:7 ESV)

   The cause of the Israelites unfaithfulness towards the Lord was their ignorance of what He had done for them in Egypt. In other words, it was because they did not remember the Lord’s deeds that resulted in them breaking His covenant. In the Law of Moses their lifestyle was specifically set in a way that the Israelites would always remember what the Lord had done for them. The Lord even commanded that the kings of Israel should read His Law all the days of his life (cf Deuteronomy 17:18-20) since it is through the Law that the historical deeds of God were seen. Why would God do this? The Lord knew that the surrounding nations’ values and doctrine would permeate into their lives and cause them to fall away. It is no different in our day, there are demonic beings that are stirring the hearts of humanity and causing deceptive doctrines to permeate into the world and even into the Church. Thus it is crucial that we have a historical understanding of the Lord through the Bible. But more than knowing His deeds, we must find out “why” He did them, this is the place where we find the heart of God which will sustain our lives. As we have seen in 1 John 4:19 ,we love God because of our understanding of His love for us.

   If you could come away with something from this blog my desire is that you would: (1) meditate and commune with the Lord about His acts in history so that you would know His heart in them, (2) make reading the whole Bible a regular part of your lifestyle and (3) regularly sing all of the Psalms. Over time you will see a change in your heart and your view about the Lord, people, creation and your life will change. 

These are the main acts of God in history as seen in His Word: Creation, Exodus, the Covenants, Incarnation, Death, Resurrection, Ascension, Outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the Eschatalogical Deliverance of Creation.

Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

  but his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

  The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

  for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

 (Psalm 1 ESV)

The Riches of the Glory of Christ: Some Practical Tips on Prayer-Reading the Bible

[3] And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 

(John 17:3 ESV)

Introduction

  As Christians our greatest pursuit in life is to grow closer in our relationship with the Lord. There is no higher calling in the life of a believer than pursue intimacy with Jesus. Christianity is not about a list of “what to dos” or how to act so that we can call ourselves Christians. Christianity is primarily a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. 

  In our day to day relationships our intimate knowledge of someone, through time spent with them, is how we grow closer to that person. This principle is true about our relationship with Jesus. If we desire to grow closer in our relationship with Jesus we must, by all means necessary, glean all that we can from page after page of His Word about Himself. Just as a lover desires to know everything about his beloved so also it is indispensable to pursue detailed knowledge of our Lord. It is through this means that we will increase in our love for the Lord. 

   In this article I would like to give some tips on how to position ourselves for an encounter with the Lord through His Word. There are generally two types of Bible studies that I do: (#1)Reading through the Bible book by book (which helps a lot in seeing the big picture) and (#2) prayerful-meditation on a passage or a verse (In other words, communing with God as we read through a passage or a verse). In this blog entry I would like to talk about the latter (#2).

Some practical steps on prayer-reading a passage or a verse in the Bible

1.  The first thing that we need to do is the be aware of God’s Presence. He is Person inside of us called the Holy Spirit. He is also a Jewish Man, who is alive right now and is seated at the right hand of the Father. And He is also the Father who seated in heaven. If you are having trouble realizing this truth ask the Holy Spirit to make this reality become more real to you. I find that it is helpful for me to close my eyes for a few seconds and to tell him, “Thank you for being with me” and “I love you.” Being aware of the Lord’s presence makes a big difference in reading through His Word. 

2.  Ask the the Lord to reveal Himself to you as you pray-read through the passage. “Holy Spirit, I ask that you would reveal to me what Jesus is like. Show me His desires/will.” You can also add your own requests to the Lord. I also like to pray Colossians 1:9-12 before I pray-read through a passage in the Bible.

3.  Ask the Lord to quicken all of your senses as you read and meditate on a passage. You want to see, touch, hear, smell, taste, and feel and know what the characters are feeling and thinking. Ask God to quicken your powerful imagination. I believe that this is one of the best ways to permanently write the word of God in our hearts. The impact of a passage will be more powerful and we will be able to remember it better if we actually experience it through the help of the Holy Spirit.

4.  As you are reading through a passage or a verse, speak with the Lord about it. Remember to be aware of His presence and that He is a real Person living inside of you. =) He loves to hear your voice. Ask Him questions. He loves a curious heart. Listen to Him...what is He telling you? He loves to talk about Jesus. Is He highlighting something in your life that He is encouraging you in? Do you need to change something? Ask Him to help you in obeying Him. A lot of times He simply just wants to be with you as you contemplate on His beauty through His Word. Remember to speak to Him as if He is present in the room with you, He is living inside of you.

Other helfpul insights

You should be able to prayerfully-meditate with any book of the Bible. Doing historical research on a certain book or passage of the Bible will also help in making it come more alive (which is why it is important to read the Bible in its historical context). 

 Also, there will be times when you feel like you are “soaring above the clouds” as you are prayerfully-meditating on a passage. But there will also be times when you won’t feeling anything. Don’t let that discourage you, the fact that you are spending time with Him, whether you feel Him or not, moves His heart. He really likes that. You may not feel the impact that this has in your life while you are reading it, but you will start to notice something different about the way that you view God, yourself and other people. The effects of this spiritual discipline may not be noticed until weeks, months and maybe even years; But this will cause you to grow in love, which is what we are called to.

  As you pray-read through the Word, remember to take your time. You don’t need to be in a rush. If you end up spending a whole hour on a few verses that’s okay =). When that happens, it’s usually because the Holy Spirit wants to speak with you regarding those verses or passage.

  All four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and the Song of Solomon are great places to prayerfully-read the Bible.

Let’s do this together

Let’s go through this together in the scene where Jesus Prays in the garden of Gethsemane.

[36] Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” [37] And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. [38] Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 

(Matthew 26:36-38 ESV)

You have done steps 1-3 and now you are engaging yourself in the scene. As a friend of Jesus you want to know and feel what was in His heart as He went to the garden. What were you thinking and feeling Jesus? It was the night before His death and I can imagine that it was a cold and dark night. What was the atmosphere around Him like?

Remember to take your time..Don’t be in a rush.

As you are meditating through this passage ask Him questions and listen to Him: Why did You tell the other disciples to sit by while bringing Peter, James and John (the two sons of Zebedee) with You? Why were you more vulnerable with your heart with these three men? What set them apart from the other disciples? Why were you sorrowful? How can I position myself to be a friend with whom you can share the deepest things of your heart with? ask..ask..ask...There may be times that the Holy Spirit will help you on what question to ask.

There will be times when all you can do is to gaze upon Him and tell Him that you love Him because of what He did for you. Speak back to Him. Tell Him what you liked. Speak His words back to Him. Do you need to ask him for help? Does He want you to go deeper in Him? Are there any areas of sin that the Holy Spirit wants to help you in?

Wrench out everything that you can about in this passage. Let the Holy Spirit write it in your heart. He will transform you from the inside-out. 

Let the text of the passage speak for itself. But this also doesn’t mean that we can’t take part in the scene and ask Him questions that are not explicitly revealed in the text. It is not like we are trying to build foundational church doctrines on these things. My point is that the heart of a true lover desires to know every intimate detail about the one whom he or she loves. Imagine seeing Jesus face to face in the age to come as He recalls to your memory that one night when you were sitting in your room meditating on Him through His word. I can picture the smile of a Friend and Him saying, “Do you remember what I told you that one night?” Let’s know every detail that we can about Jesus.“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” Proverbs 25:2 (NKJV)

Remember to be aware of His Presence. The Father and Jesus in heaven, and Holy Spirit inside of you. Remind yourself that Jesus is a real human being right now. He has real memories associated with the emotions that happened to Him that night. He wants to share His heart with a friend even though this happened 2000 years ago. He is alive right now and He vividly remembers the passing hours before His crucifixion. The Holy Spirit loves to speak to us about the things in Jesus’ heart. “...when the Helper comes...he will bear witness about me.” (John 15:26)

Testimony of Bernard

“His [Bernard of Clairvaux] continual exercise was meditation on the sufferings of Jesus Christ. He compared this exercise to the bundle of myrrh which the bride in the Canticles gathered, with pious care, to place in her bosom (cf. Song of Solomon 1:13). He speaks thus upon this subject: ‘For myself, dear brethren, from the first beginning of my conversion, seeing myself to be wanting in all virtues, I took to myself this bundle of myrrh made up of all my Saviour’ s bitter sufferings, of the privations He endured in His infancy, the toils He underwent in His ministry, the weariness He suffered in His journeyings, His watching in prayer, His fasting and testing, His tears of compassion, the snares laid to catch Him in His words, His perils among false brethren, the insults, the blows, the mockeries, the nails, the sorrows in short of all kinds which He endured for the salvation of men. I have found wisdom to consist in meditation upon these things...Therefore, also, it is that I have them always in my mouth as you know, and that I have them always in my heart, as God knows; they are ever on my pen as all men may see; and the most sublime philosophy which I have in this world, is to know Jesus, and Jesus crucified.”

¹ St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbe Theodore Ratisbonne, (Rockford: TAN Books and Publishers, 1991), 29-30.

The Ravished Heart of God: The Joy of Loving God.

[41] And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. [42] And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. [43] And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. [44] For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” 

(Mark 12:41-44 ESV)

   I can imagine Jesus during this scene, as he sits down, with delighted eyes as He intentionally watches many people offer their gifts to His Father... He continues to watch as many people give their offering to His Father, who is worthy of their love...then comes a poor widow who stands out from everyone in the eyes of Jesus. Though society would not regard her as someone of great significance, nevertheless she stood out above everyone in the eyes of the One who was watching her. No one was probably watching her when she put it the two small copper coins (These two copper coins were worth about 1/64 of a denarius, which was a day’s wage for a laborer) and even if someone did they would not have regarded her offering as anything worth of value. Yet she stood out above everyone else in the eyes of the One who truly sees. Jesus’ heart was so thrilled that He gathered His disciples together and praised this widow among them. I could imagine the myriads of angels “leaning forward on their seats”, with marvel in their eyes, as they watched this poor widow offer up her two small copper coins,which was all that she had to live on. Jesus’ said that she had put in everything that she had. 

   It wasn’t just the two small copper coins that she offered up, she offered up her life and her heart. The principle is true that where our money goes that is where our heart is. In the eyes of the world these two small copper coins weren’t of great significance. But in the eyes of the One who truly sees her heart, this offering was of great value. The whole community of angels and God’s people in heaven must have been rejoicing during that time as they watched the Father’s heart undone by the love that this poor widow had offered.

   There is no higher pleasure than offering up our love to the Lord. This is what we were created for. The Lord created our hearts with the longing to wholeheartedly give our lives for something or someone great. The human heart cannot experience the fullness that it was created for unless it has something that is worth dying for. This is when fullness of joy comes. 

   We all desire to be part of something great and do great exploits. This is true for every person since God created us that way. The doctor goes to school for many years so that he can help the lives of others. The youth pastor attends a seminary for four years because he wants to make a life changing impact on the youth. The teacher studies at a university for years in order to impact the next generation. We desire to make a big impact in the lives of others and there is something fulfilling when it happens. Yet the greatest impact that we can make is with God Himself. 

9 You have ravished my heart, 

      My sister, my spouse; 

      You have ravished my heart 

      With one look of your eyes, 

      With one link of your necklace. 

       10 How fair is your love, 

      My sister, my spouse! 

      How much better than wine is your love, 

      And the scent of your perfumes 

      Than all spices!

 (Song of Solomon 4:9-10 NKJV)

     Did you know that He is undone by every choice of love that you make for Him? There is no greater exploit that we can do than to move the heart of God. No other impact that we can make in the universe can compare to the impact that we make when we move the heart of God. Yes, you move the heart of the Great One! Though no one may see your obedience to Him throughout the day yet He sees! It is a memorial before Him forever! Our success in life is not based on how much money we make, what type of house we are living in, what kind of job we have, what relationships we are in or are not in, nor is it based on our reputation before men. Our joy in life is based on the fact that I we are loved by God Himself and that we give Him joy when we obey Him, though no one else may see. This is where we find true success and identity.

   No one else can love God the way that you do. You are uniquely created to love God with the unique personality and circumstances that He has ordained for you. No one else BUT YOU as an individual can give Him that type of love! Neither your pastor nor your best friend nor your co-worker nor any angel in heaven. He says that your love is better than anything in the universe that He has created. “How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!” (Song of Solomon 4:10 ESV)

   You don’t have to earn a degree or make a lot of money to make a big impact. You can make the greatest impact in the mundane day to day of life as you respond to Him in love. His heart is truly undone by just one glance of your eyes towards Him. How much more a steady gaze! May the Lord change our definition of what true success and identity is. Amen.

The Dream of God's Heart.

38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” 

41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”   Luke 10:38-42 (NKJV)

4 One thing I have desired of the LORD,
         That will I seek:
         That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
         All the days of my life,
         To behold the beauty of the LORD,
         And to inquire in His temple.   Psalm 27:4 (NKJV)

24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.    John 17:21 (NKJV)

The writer of the gospel of Luke, through the Holy Spirit, wanted to highlight the posture of heart which Mary had when Jesus came to her house. It is at this point in the narrative of the gospel of Luke where Jesus starts to share His heart regarding His suffering, death and resurrection at the Cross. Jesus was looking for a friend to share His heart with before He went through His suffering, He found a young girl who sat at His feet and listened to Him. Jesus also said something very significant, which we need to pay careful attention to as ones who desire to love and follow Him, that "one thing is needed"....just one thing...just one...that is to listen to Him..but more than listen to Him...to actually fellowship with the movements of His heart as He speaks to us. Jesus went further in affirming Mary's posture of heart in saying, in essence, "Mary has chosen the best thing that she could choose and there is no way that I will take it away from her and I will not withhold my heart from her."

    David also had the same testimony from his own lips as He wrote Psalm 27:4, which was probably written near the end of his life. David was probably the most successful king in Israel's history. He was probably the most powerful king during his time and he had conquered many nations. David was rich and had a big family...In other words, David had it made for himself!. But what was his testimony at the end of his life? In essence he was saying, "There was only one thing that I have truly wanted in my life and the only thing which satisfied...that is to be with the Lord and to look at His beauty and to fellowship with Him as a friend." Even with all that he had accomplished and obtained during his life, the only thing that satisfied him was fellowship with Yahweh.

   The Lord Jesus Himself said that this was His desire the night before He was about to die. This was the joy or vision of His heart which caused Him to endure the suffering that He went through (cf. Hebrews 12:2). The number one dream in the heart of Jesus is to have friends with whom He can have intimate fellowship with. This was the driving force or motivation of God becoming a Man and dying on the Cross for our sins.

   As ones who are created in God's image, we are created with a longing for deep intimacy and fellowship. And He formed our hearts in a way that that longing can only be fulfilled by Him alone. We easily get bored with people whom we are close to since they are finite human beings. Once you get to know somebody and every detail of their lives then that's all you get. Suddenly we become familiar with them and we can even start to become bitter towards them. We also try to fill our God-made longing with entertainment, romance novels, food, etc. only to find ourselves dissatisfied as we try many other things in hope of fulfilling this longing for beauty and intimacy. We end up dissatisfied and empty, longing for something deeper. This longing is meant to lead us back to the One Lover who fashioned it in the first place, and He is committed to satisfying it with Himself. Jesus is from everlasting and we will find out new things about Him billions of years from now. We will never get bored with Him and our hearts will continue to enlarge with love for Him as we get to know Him ages from now. True fellowship with one another occurs when we have the same vision or value, which is Jesus Christ. It is in this that we can truly know and love one another deeply.

   In the past few years, after becoming a follower of Jesus, the most satisfying and profound moments in my life has been during times of prayer and reading His Word. Also, the most fulfilling fellowship I have had was when we are filled with the Lord's love for one another and we actually fall more in love with the Lord as a result of our love for each other. No movie, entertainment, worldly relationships, etc. has passed the test of fulfilling that ache inside of my heart.

   The Jewish Man, Jesus Christ, who is God also has the same longings that we have. He doesn’t need us to live and exist as God,  but He does long for us. He longs to have fellowship with friends and He desires to unveil the deepest parts of His heart to those who are hungry and He is glorified in doing so. Prayer and meditation on God’s Word are the means through which the longings of our heart for Him and His longings for us embrace one another. Deep communion or fellowship with the Lord is priceless. It is worth more than gold or silver. He wanted this so much that He would take the time to get off of His glorious throne in the highest of heavens and become a man forever and give His life to purchase us back for Himself.